The solar wind and the Sun–Earth link

Plasma streams out from the Sun in the form of the solar wind. Shadia Rifai Habbal and Richard Woo examine the workings of this enigmatic link between the Earth and the Sun.     

Starbursts – from 30 Doradus to Lyman-break galaxies

Richard de Grijs and Robert W O'Connell summarize proceedings of a conference at which nearly 200 observers, theorists and modellers came together to tackle the problems posed by starbursts on all scales and at low and high redshifts – with an emphasis on discussion, networking and collaboration.     

Surveying the dark side

Roberto Trotta and Richard Bower examine the rationales and prospects for the next-generation surveys to pin down dark energy, the mysterious majority of the universe.     

Historical eclipses and Earth's rotation

F Richard Stephenson took a long view of Earth's rotation history in the 2002 Harold Jeffreys Lecture in October.     

'Vapours like fire light' are Korean aurorae

F Richard Stephenson and David M Willis describe a rich source of information on aurorae from 17th-century Korea.     

Early observation of the aurora australis: AD 1640

David M Willis, José M Vaquero and F Richard Stephenson cast a critical eye over evidence of auroral observations in 17th-century Chile.     

The earliest datable observation of the aurora borealis

F Richard Stephenson, David M Willis and Thomas J Hallinan document observations of the aurora borealis from a Babylonian clay tablet from more than 2500 years ago – probably the earliest reliable account.     

2007: International Heliophysical Year

The International Heliophysical Year is an international programme of global research to understand the external drivers of the space environment and climate, continuing the tradition of previous International Years. It is introduced here by Richard Harrison, Andy Breen, Barbara Bromage and Joe Davila.     

Starbirth in galaxy collisions

When galaxies collide, stars are born. But many such close encounters also result in the formation of clusters with many of the characteristics of ancient globular clusters. Richard de Grijs argues the case that this process represents continuing formation of globular clusters in a hierarchical scheme of galaxy formation.     

安徽霍山窗重复地震尾波Qc值变化研究

本文用波形互相关方法识别霍山窗重复地震对,进一步在重复地震对中搜索重复地震序列.人工挑选了一条时间在上覆盖2009年且时间分布相对理想的由8个重复地震组成的重复地震序列(Repeating Earthquake Series, RES).挑选1个重复地震作为参考对象,使用前人提出的滑动窗口谱振幅比方法计算其它7个重复地震与该地震的尾波Q_c^-1值的变化量ΔQ_c^-1,结果发现在2009年的3次重复地震尾波Q_c^-1值的变化量ΔQ_c^-1比2008年和2010年有明显增大,即尾波Q_c^-1从2009年开始出现明显降低,2010年后恢复;若换算成Q_c值的变化其增幅可达11%~21%.然而在2009年霍山窗及附近地区并未发生中强地震,而是伴随尾波Q_c值增加出现了小震活动增强的现象.结合地球动力学知识和前人对中国大陆东西部中强地震活动特征及时间关系的研究结果,认为霍山窗重复地震尾波Q_c值的变化与前人研究的震前地震孕育导致的尾波Q_c值变化有所不同,前者可能是受到大陆西部物质东移和应力向东传递这种外部因素的影响导致霍山地区地壳应力的变化,因而引起尾波Q_c值的变化.     

Application of the Wavelet Packet Method in Discrimination Between Nuclear Explosion and Earthquake

Although the CTBT (Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty) was passed in 1996, it is still necessary to develop new and highly efficient methods (Wu Zhongliang, Chen Yuntai, et al.,1993 ; Xu Shaoxie, et al. 1994; Richard L. Garwin, 1994) to monitor possible events. Many discrimination criteria (Xu Shaoxie, et al., 1994 ; Institute of Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1976; Richard L. Garwin, 1994) have been put forward since the 1950s. The results show that each of the existing criteria has its own limitation, but the seismological method is an important and efficient method in the discrimination between nuclear explosion and earthquake. Especially in recent years, because of the little and little equivalent as well as the increasing hiding steps used in the test, a number of more efficient seismological methods have been worked out. In this paper, a new discrimination method, the Wavelet Packet Component Ratio (WPCR) method, is put forward. This method makes full use of the difference in variation with time between the spectra of nuclear explosions and earthquakes. Its discrimination efficiency is rather high.     

On the three-dimensional oceanic density distribution in a millennium integration with an AO-GCM

 The three-dimensional time-mean density distribution in the ocean is determined not only by the time-mean fluxes of heat and freshwater at the sea surface, but also by time-mean vertical currents and time-mean density fluxes due to oceanic transients excited by fluctuating fluxes at the sea surface. The effects of these various processes on the global density fields are assessed using a balance equation of the variance of spatial density anomalies and a millennium integration with an atmosphere–ocean general circulation model. It is found that spatial density anomalies are generated by the time-mean heat fluxes at the sea surface and destroyed by the time-mean surface freshwater flux, by sinking of dense water and rising of less dense water, and finally by density fluxes associated with transients. The last two processes take place essentially in the oceanic interior. Since density fluxes of transient eddies act to reduce the existing density differences between the Atlantic/Southern Oceans and the other oceans, their presence could affect the global density balance, and from that the thermohaline circulation and the stability of this circulation. Received: 4 October 2001 / Accepted: 10 October 2002 Responsible Editor: Richard J. Greatbatch Acknowledgements I thank Ulrich Cubasch and his colleagues for providing me with the ECHAM3/LSG integration, Peter Müller and Richard Greatbatch for valuable suggestions.     

The story of galaxy evolution in full colour

A Holy Grail of modern astronomy is understanding the origin of Edwin Hubble's morphological sequence of galaxy types. What made some collapsing gas clouds turn into elegant spiral systems like our own Milky Way, whereas others became smooth, featureless ellipticals? More fundamentally, does the taxonomic scheme introduced by Hubble in the 1920s have any physical relevance? The Space Telescope that bears Hubble's name is providing answers to these and other questions in the context of modern theories of structure formation.
Richard S Ellis, Roberto G Abraham, Jarle Brinchmann and Felipe Menanteau show how modern telescopes producing colourful images are pointing the way to understanding galaxy evolution.     

2003年呼和浩特城区流体异常特征及其地震地质意义

通过对2003年3月呼和浩特城区出现流体异常的落实和跟踪监测, 讨论了水温和水汞异常的成因, 并分析了大青山地震带的地震动态。 地下流体和地震地质资料表明, 呼和浩特城区3月中旬出现的地下流体异常是区域地壳活动的结果, 是呼-包盆地地壳活动引起新华广场断裂的活动, 断裂活动破坏了地下浅层的隔水层, 深层热水上涌形成了流体异常。 呼和浩特城区流体异常与6月10日托克托县M_S4.2地震都是岩石圈深部活动在地壳内的反映, 2003年3月以来呼和浩特城区出现的流体异常应该是地震的前兆。 西龙王庙的流体异常还未完全结束。     

Secondary circulation induced by flow curvature and Coriolis effects around headlands and islands

Previous studies have shown that flow curvature in river bends generates a secondary circulation in the plane normal to the mean flow direction. A similar circulation pattern is shown to exist in oceanic situations when flows are subject to curvature, mainly due to interaction with topographic features. However, it is shown that, due to differences between oceanic conditions and river bends, theory and prediction methods based on the assumptions for river bends are invalid for oceanic flows. Via scaling arguments based on the equations of motion, that include both the effects of flow curvature and the Coriolis force, parameters that govern the different flow regimes are identified. The maximum strength of the secondary flow is derived for each flow regime and is verified using a three-dimensional (3-D) numerical model applied to an idealized island. It is also shown that upwelling, due to the generation of secondary flow, occurs off the tips of the headland or island, and its influence can extend far downstream.Responsible Editor: Richard Signell     

Star formation timescales in M82

Richard de Grijs reviews the picture of starbirth presented in this nearby, prototype starburst galaxy, a well-studied example of processes that must be widespread in the early universe.
The last tidal encounter between M82 and M81, some 500 Myr ago, had a major impact on what was probably an otherwise normal, quiescent disk galaxy. It caused a concentrated burst of star formation in the form of massive star clusters that decreased rapidly, within a few 100 Myr. The current starburst in the centre of the galaxy is likely to arise from large-scale propagating star formation. Alternatively, it may be related to late infall of tidally disrupted debris from M82 itself. Star formation here overall may, in fact, come from a combination of these two mechanisms, in the sense that the star formation in the active core is actively propagating, whilst the overall evolution of the starburst depends on tidal debris raining back onto the disk of the galaxy, giving rise to the present-day starburst.     

富含煤层气储层的叠前地震反演预测方法研究——以山西晋东南测区为例

叠前地震反演技术能够将地震中振幅、偏移距和入射角等多种有效信息与油气的敏感参数结合起来,在有效识别油气藏"甜点"方面虽发挥了重要的作用,但对于煤层气的有效预测仍需研究.针对煤层气与石油天然气的赋存地质条件不同,本文以山西沁水盆地煤层气地震资料为例,借鉴叠前地震反演技术的多参数预测思想,通过模型正演和实测资料处理,得到纵波、横波速度和密度等不同的数据体,利用数据体和弹性参数关系式,采用AkiRichard近似公式与叠前宽角度反演联合的方法,寻找出富含煤层气储层的敏感参数.从而实现富含煤层气储层的有效预测.经与测井曲线结果对比,吻合率较高,说明了该方法具有可行性与实用性.     

Detecting a Defective Casing Seal at the Top of a Bedrock Aquifer

An improperly sealed casing can produce a direct hydraulic connection between two or more originally isolated aquifers with important consequences regarding groundwater quantity and quality. A recent study by Richard et al. (2014) investigated a monitoring well installed in a fractured rock aquifer with a defective casing seal at the soil–bedrock interface. A hydraulic short circuit was detected that produced some leakage between the rock and the overlying deposits. A falling‐head permeability test performed in this well showed that the usual method of data interpretation is not valid in this particular case due to the presence of a piezometric error. This error is the direct result of the preferential flow originating from the hydraulic short circuit and the subsequent re‐equilibration of the piezometric levels of both aquifers in the vicinity of the inlet and the outlet of the defective seal. Numerical simulations of groundwater circulation around the well support the observed impact of the hydraulic short circuit on the results of the falling‐head permeability test. These observations demonstrate that a properly designed falling‐head permeability test may be useful in the detection of defective casing seals.     

A low-order model for the response of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation to climate change

Concern has been expressed that anthropogenic climate change may lead to a slowdown or even collapse of the Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC). Because of the possibly severe consequences that such an event could have on the northern North Atlantic and northwestern Europe, integrated assessment models (IAMs) are needed to explore the associated political and socioeconomic implications. State-of-the-art climate models representing the THC are, however, often too complex to be incorporated into an integrated assessment framework. In this paper we present a low-order model of the Atlantic THC which meets the main requirements of IAMs: it (1) is physically based, (2) is computationally highly efficient, (3) allows for comprehensive uncertainty analysis and (4) can be linked to globally aggregated climate models that are mostly used in IAMs. The model is an interhemispheric extension of the seminal Stommel model. Its parameters are determined by a least-squares fit to the output of a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity. Results of a number of transient global warming simulations indicate that the model is able to reproduce many features of the behaviour of coupled ocean–atmosphere circulation models such as the sensitivity of the THC to the amount, regional distribution and rate of climate change.Responsible Editor: Richard Greatbatch